In 2007 a computer animated version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released in cinemas. As everyone knows, this year Michael Bay released his explosive reboot of the mutated reptiles. Again, seven years would seem like a long time, but these are characters that most young people have grown up knowing through TV, comics and films. Although he has certainly updated the look and feel of the franchise, it seems as though the studio is simply trying to capitalise on the success of these sorts of films, such as Transformers and the comic book genre. This reboot was clearly too soon, with many viewers unhappy with the updated look of Splinter and the reptilian stars of the film. There is certainly an argument that these characters are unable to be updated as they are etched in the memories of their fans in a certain way, and this nostalgia makes any attempt to update the turtles a failure. The Ninja Turtles no longer looked comedic, they looked somewhat threatening, and Splinter looked eerily similar to a Transformer. This action based formula is typical of Michael Bay, so we were not surprised, but such a huge change in the characters and the looks was simply too much, too soon.
A 21 year old History graduate looking for someone to listen to his ramblings. Lover of comic books, movies and all other superhero related things. Published in The Independent, always looking for interesting things to write about...Follow me on Twitter at @samclements1993, and check out my blog: http://samuelclements.wordpress.com/
